- German law firm demands that Wikipedia remove true information about now-paroled murderers [EFF] More: Eugene Volokh.
- “Class Actions: Some Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Fed Up, Too?” [California Civil Justice]
- Drop that Irish coffee and back away: “F.D.A. Says It May Ban Alcoholic Drinks With Caffeine” [NYT]
- Profile of L.A. tort lawyers Walter Lack and Thomas Girardi, now in hot water following Nicaraguan banana-pesticide scandal [The Recorder; my earlier outing on “Erin Brockovich” case]
- Federalist Society panel on federalism and preemption [BLT]
- Confidence in the courts? PriceWaterhouseCoopers would rather face Satyam securities fraud lawsuits in India than in U.S. [Hartley]
- Allegation: Scruggs continuing to wheel and deal behind bars [Freeland]
- Not much that will be new to longtime readers here: “Ten ridiculous lawsuits against Big Business” [Biz Insider] P.S.: Legal Blog Watch had more lists back in June.
Archive for November, 2009
Internet service providers liable for online securities frauds?
Andrew Moshirnia at Citizen Media Law sounds the alarm about a provision of the proposed Investor Protection Act of 2009 that could punch an exception in Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act, which now generally protects ISPs from liability for actions of third-party users. An investment-fraud exception could serve (he warns) as an entering wedge for other groups to pursue similar exceptions for other types of online content.
Persons accused of domestic violence have right to hearing
That’s a more controversial proposition than you might think; the Connecticut Supreme Court was split 5-2 in agreeing that a hearing was necessary to confirm the validity of a protective order against a defendant who has been accused but not convicted. The case pitted the state ACLU against the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. [Connecticut Law Tribune via Amy Alkon]
Calorie count labeling for vending machines
It’s in a provision “buried deep in the House health care bill”. [Glenn Thrush, Politico, via Katherine Mangu-Ward, Crispy on the Outside]
The fifteen-minute shower
“Here’s a surprise: people hate federally mandated low-flow shower heads. And the nannies are planning to make them worse.” [For What It’s Worth on this WSJ report]
U.K.: “Police worker fired for backing psychic investigations claims religious discrimination”
Having succeeded in winning a ruling that his beliefs in spiritualism and mediums qualify as a form of religious belief, Alan Power can proceed with his suit alleging that he was improperly dismissed because of them. His case “follows a landmark ruling last month that environmental views should be considered equivalent to religious and philosophical beliefs”. [Telegraph, Independent] (& welcome Popehat readers)
Update: “Sodium lawsuit against Denny’s dismissed”
Nation’s Restaurant News (via Russell Jackson): “A New Jersey Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing Denny’s Corp. of perpetrating fraud by not disclosing the amount of sodium in its food. The lawsuit, the first sodium-related case against a restaurant company, was filed this summer by a New Jersey man with help from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based consumer advocacy group.” Earlier here and here. Update/clarification: judge gave leave to amend, so action is expected to continue.
November 13 roundup
- “Jailed Inventor Reveals Details of Patent Troll Settlements” [AmLaw Daily, IP Law and Business]
- Sprinkler law inspired by Great White nightclub disaster could kill off small Seattle music venues [Nicole Brodeur, Seattle Times]
- Court tosses law student’s suit against lawyer who boasted on air he’d pay a million bucks if anyone could prove him wrong about his case [Hoffman, ConcurOp; earlier]
- Baseball-anthem case: “The Boston resident who saw his recent copyright claim against Bon Jovi dismissed is appealing the verdict.” [NME, earlier]
- Man who climbed Mount Rainier while drawing workers’ comp pleads not guilty to fraud charge [KOMO; more on Washington workers’ comp here, here and here]
- Senate committee intends to vote next week on OSHA nomination of David Michaels without holding a hearing to air critics’ concerns [Carter Wood, ShopFloor]
- Blawg Review #237 is at Christian Metcalfe’s U.K. Property Law Blog;
- Are you sure you want to open that high-end restaurant in San Francisco given the city’s regulatory climate? [Crispy on the Outside citing SF Weekly interview with Daniel Patterson]
When people search for “judge”
Radley Balko reports on what Google proceeds to suggest based on search popularity.
Suing Buffett, and many others, over takeovers
Dallas attorney Joseph Kendall, a former federal judge, seems to have won the race to the courthouse to challenge Warren Buffett’s takeover of Burlington Northern as inadequately generous. Daniel Fisher of Forbes discusses the economics of entrepreneurial lawsuits arising from takeovers — settlements may reflect defendants’ wish not to undergo the heavy burdens of discovery, and if the acquirer should happen to raise its bid during the process, you can take credit for that as a basis for fees — and reports that “this isn’t the only takeover Kendall thinks investors should be unhappy about: On his firm’s Web site are listed announcements of litigation or potential litigation over Stanley Works’ $4.5 billion takeover of Black and Decker, JDA Software’s acquisition of i2 Technologies, Texas Pacific Group’s $4 billion purchase of IMS Health Inc., and the purchase of Diedrich Coffee by Peet’s Coffee & Tea. And that’s only this month.”